Will the Real Space Mom Please Stand Up?
by Laura of Maychoria
Summary: Lance is hurt and wants his mom. Someone has to step in. It just shouldn't be Pidge, that's all.


**A/N:** Apparently I shrivel up and die if I go more than a week without writing hurt!Lance, so here's a bonus one-shot written while I figured out how sword-fighting works.

* * *

Lance was completely out of it.

A sudden solar storm in the middle of a fight had separated Voltron from the Castle of Lions and forced them to take refuge on a desolate planet. They'd been able to find shelter in a system of caves after dispersing, all of the lions making their own way. Blue's flying had been...strange, though. Hunk had figured it out when he tried to contact Lance directly and got no response, then Yellow spoke to Blue to find out what was going on and told him right away. Lance had hit his head when Blue caught a blast in the final moments of the battle, and he had passed out. Blue was flying on her own to get him to safety, and she was being very cautious to avoid hurting her pilot any further. That was why her flying seemed so odd and stiff. If it was Lance, he would be a lot more playful and reckless, even in such dangerous circumstances.

As soon as the lions set down in a gigantic cavern, the other paladins bolted out of their ships and ran for Blue, who had already set down and opened up to let them in. They found Lance on the floor of his cockpit, still bleeding, groggily trying to lift his head up. It was a bit of a fight over who would get to him first, but Shiro won. Hunk, sensibly, went for the first aid supplies in the back of the lion. They got Lance bandaged up and medicated with Altean painkillers while he tried to play it off with stupid jokes that didn't make much sense because he was concussed and his words kept getting tangled together.

Now they were camping out in the middle of the giant cavern, circled by their lions all around. The light from the lions' eyes shone gently for them to see by, and they had plenty of supplies to keep them warm and comfortable and fed, at least for a few days. But it definitely wasn't an ideal situation. As soon as they heard from Allura that the storm was safe to fly in, they were going to get out of here and get back to the castle, but for now they were stuck.

Lance was nauseated and in pain, and he couldn't get comfortable no matter what the others did to try to accommodate him. By the middle of the night he completely lost the plot. The medicine was helping, keeping him from being in unbearable agony, but it couldn't fix everything. They needed a pod for that.

Pidge was sitting next to him at that point, holding his hand and doing her best not to feel completely and utterly useless. Lance's shoulders shifted in the cocoon of blankets they'd wrapped around him, and his head tossed from side to side, forehead wrinkling. Then he started mumbling, low and pained. "No, no... Hurts, please... Please make it stop, please..." A whimper escaped his lips, and then he pressed them flat, but Pidge saw them tremble.

She squeezed his hand, her chest aching with need to make this better. She just had no idea how. "Lance, can you hear me? I'm sorry, I can't make it stop, I can't take the pain away, but is there anything else I can do for you? Do you need some water or something to eat? Please, is there something you want? Anything?"

Lance's eyes slid open, glassy and unfocused. He tried to look at her face, but it was like he was staring straight through her. "Want...my mom..." His voice was breathless, not quite there.

Pidge grimaced. "I'm sorry, man. Your mom's not here. Is there someone else you want? Maybe Shiro? Or Hunk? I can get them for you."

Lance squinted his eyes as if he was trying to think. It didn't seem to be working well. "Mm. Yeah. No. I don't know. Can't really...think."

Pidge nodded slowly. Lance's brain was too scrambled to figure out what he wanted, so they would just have to go by trial and error, then. Scientific method. She turned her head and raised her voice to be heard by the others. Everyone else was supposed to be sleeping, since Pidge was on watch, but she was pretty sure everyone's rest was light and troubled, if they were getting any at all. "Shiro? Can you get over here?"

He rose from his blanket roll immediately, as if he'd just been waiting for the call, and swiftly made his way to them. "What is it?" His voice was low and soothing, and Pidge relaxed immediately. Shiro might or might not be what Lance needed right now, but he was definitely what Pidge needed.

"Lance is really out of it. Worse than before. He wants his mom. I told him she wasn't here and asked if maybe someone else could help instead, but he didn't know who else to ask for. Could you try? I don't know, just... Say what his mom might say, I guess."

"Hmm. Okay." Shiro took Pidge's place at Lance's side. He held his hand and leaned down closer to him, looking steadily into his face. "Hey, kiddo. I'm here. Everything's going to be okay, you got me? You're gonna be fine. We'll get back to the castle soon and Coran will pop you in a pod and everything will be fine."

Lance blinked, twice, very slowly. He was staring at Shiro's face, clearly trying to focus on him and not having a lot of success. "You're not my mom," he said, slow but certain. He sounded like he'd been thinking about it the whole time Shiro had been talking and finally made up his mind.

Shiro sighed, shoulders slumping. "No, I'm not." He sounded kind of guilty about not being a middle-aged Cuban woman, which might have made Pidge laugh in other circumstances. He looked back to the others. "Maybe... Hunk...?"

Pidge nodded. Yeah, the trial had failed, moving on to the next one. "Hunk!" she called, not quite a yell but not exactly quiet, either. Keith was probably awake, anyway, and if he was grumpy about the noise, well, that was too bad. They were all tired and grumpy, but Lance was just as tired and also in _pain,_ so that took priority.

Hunk was a little slower to rouse, but he turned over to face Pidge and blinked at her for a few seconds, then rolled ponderously to his feet and stumbled to them, yawning and smacking lips. "Wha's goin' on?"

Pidge explained again about Lance wanting his mom and not knowing who else could help. Hunk nodded easily and settled down by his buddy's side, and Shiro transferred Lance's hand to Hunk's huge, gentle fist. Shiro then scooted up to Lance's head and started running his fingers through his hair, which Lance seemed to like. Shiro took care to stay away from the big, bloody bandage on the side of his head.

"Hey, Lance ol' pal," Hunk said, his voice positively soaked with affection. "I know I'm not your mom, but you trust me, right? So you can believe me when I say that you're fine, you're gonna be fine, everything's okay. You can sleep, and when you wake up this will all be better."

Lance listened intently, staring at Hunk without blinking. Then he closed his eyes, and a disappointed sigh slid out of his mouth. He didn't have to say anything. They all knew that this hadn't worked, either. He looked just as pained and miserable as he had when the experiment had started.

So Pidge called for Keith. Sure, it was a long shot, but any port in a storm, right? Maybe having his rival try to comfort him would at least distract Lance from how bad he felt.

Keith took the longest to respond of all, but Pidge was persistent. After three separate calls, each time at a louder volume and with the central vowel of his name drawn out for a longer stretch of time, Keith finally sat straight up where he was lying under a blanket and glared at her. Then he popped to his feet, fully dressed, and stalked over. _"What_ do you _want?"_

Pidge blinked up at him, completely unimpressed, then gestured at Lance. "Help him."

Keith eyes flicked away, and he surveyed Lance for the first time since they had set up camp. He took in Lance's pale, sweaty face, heaving chest, confused expression and pained eyes, the way Hunk was holding his hand with the tips of Lance's fingers twitching uncomfortably on the edge of his palm. Keith's eyes softened, and he moved around Lance's blanket cocoon and knelt down on the ground. Lance was now completely surrounded by his teammates, which he seemed to find at least marginally soothing, judging by the way his shoulders relaxed under the blankets.

"What can I do?" Keith was looking at Pidge.

Pidge shrugged and made face. No one, repeat, _no one_ should look to her for advice on this stuff. Ever. She had just happened to be on watch when Lance woke up, that was all. "I don't know. Make him feel better! He wants his mom, and we're all he's got, so we have to do something. Talk to him. Be comforting. We've all tried and failed, so you're the last resort."

Keith squinted at her. "Did you try, too?"

Pidge scowled. "Of course I did." Even though she hadn't, really. She had just asked what Lance wanted, and when he said "my mom," she immediately threw in the towel.

Keith sighed and looked back to Lance, kneeling there stiff and uncomfortable with his hands pressed to his knees and his arms straight. "Hey, buddy." He was trying for a gentle tone. It wasn't the most successful attempt Pidge had ever heard, but at least he was trying. "You got, uh...got a concussion, right? So you're not thinking too clearly. So everything is scary, huh? But there's nothing to worry about, because we're all here, and we're not gonna let anything happen to you. Everything is okay. I've got a sword, and Pidge has a grappling hook taser...thing, and Hunk has a cannon, and Shiro has his...arm. So we're loaded for bear, and anything that tries to get to you will have to go through us. So it's fine. You're totally safe. Promise."

Pidge kind of wanted to laugh, but Keith was just so...earnest. Of course this was what he considered to be comforting: assurances of physical safety. No monsters were going to get Keith's teammate while he had anything to say about it, that was all. It truly was the most mom-like speech Keith could muster.

Lance watched Keith carefully, eyes wide and glazed, pupils not quite matching. He absorbed every word with strange intensity, like he was trying to memorize everything Keith was saying for a test. At the end, he closed his eyes for a moment, face screwing up. Tears appeared at the edges of his eyelids, and Pidge's heart gave a pang. It just...it really sucked seeing Lance so confused, in so much pain. The universe felt wrong, tilted on an edge that shouldn't be there. They needed to make Lance feel better and right the world, somehow, someway.

Keith seemed to feel the urge, too. He caught his breath, suddenly tensing up, and waved his hands over Lance's body in agitation. "Hey! Lance, buddy. You believe me, right? Everything's okay! You're gonna be fine!"

The words were right, but the anxiety in Keith's tone did not help. Lance's face twisted up even more, and he looked up at Keith with intense unhappiness. "I want...my mom..."

And that was a sob. That was definitely a sob in the middle of that sentence. Lance sounded lonely, and heartsick, and lost, and utterly, utterly pitiful. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't funny. Lance wasn't playing up his emotions and being over-dramatic for the sake of attention. This was really, truly how he felt. The concussion had stripped him raw, left his heart naked in front of them, and all Pidge wanted to do was wrap him tight and make sure he was safe for as long as it took for this stupid, _stupid_ solar storm to pass.

After a moment longer to ponder this, Pidge abruptly threw her hands up in the air. "Argh! Okay, let me try."

Keith startled and switched places with her, looking alarmed. Pidge grabbed Lance's free hand. She couldn't fold him up the way Hunk could, just one hand covering Lance's palm and fingers almost completely, so she used both of hers. "Okay, Lance," she said determinedly. "I'm not your mom. Let's just establish that right now. But I care about you. We all do. We don't like seeing you hurting like this. So tell us what we can do. What does your mom do when you're feeling bad that makes things better for you?"

Lance opened his eyes and looked at her, tears still caught in his eyelashes. "She, um..." He had to think about it. His forehead wrinkled with effort. "She brings me ginger ale when my stomach hurts."

Hunk made a pained noise. "You're feeling sick to your stomach again?"

Lance looked over at him, only moving his eyes. It probably made him sick and dizzy to move his head right now. "Yeah." He almost sounded ashamed, as if it was his fault that he was suffering the effects of a bad concussion.

Hunk tutted. "I'm sorry, buddy. We have rations and stuff, but no ginger ale. I don't know if they even have ginger in space. I could check the supplies for anti-nausea medicine..." He made as if to move away, but Lance grunted and held on to him, fingers tightening on the edge of Hunk's palm. Hunk looked down at their joined hands, then sighed and settled on his butt on the cavern floor again. "Okay," he said gently. "Never mind that then."

Pidge squeezed his hand, and Lance looked over at her. "What else does she do?" Pidge asked. There had to be something they could replicate here. She refused to give up.

"Um." Lance's voice was barely audible. He closed his eyes, face reddening. "She puts her hand on my forehead."

That was better. That was something they could do. Keith seemed to have the same thought as Pidge, because the words had barely left his mouth before Keith was reaching across almost the entire length of Lance's body to rest his palm on his forehead. The touch was much gentler and more careful than Pidge would have expected. Looked like Keith had finally gotten the memo that making Lance feel better was top priority right now for the entire team. "Like this?" Keith asked.

"Yeah." It was a mere breath of air. Lance was now being touched by all four of them, Hunk and Pidge holding his hands, Keith covering his forehead, Shiro's fingers still combing through his hair.

"What else?" Pidge asked. There had to be more. Lance looked more relaxed now, his face smoother, but tears were pooling in his eyes even though he was trying to hold them back. He must be in a lot of pain, and a few gentle touches weren't going to make that go away.

Lance moaned, eyes fluttering shut again. His face was still red, though Pidge didn't think he had a fever. One positive of this concerted effort was that Lance seemed more aware of himself and his surroundings again. He knew who they were and where he was. The downside was that now he was embarrassed, which was silly. Still, he didn't tell them to go away and leave him alone, not even Keith. He probably hurt too bad to turn away anything that eased him even the slightest bit.

"Do you want a hug?" Hunk asked. "I know your mom gives really good hugs."

Shiro made a small noise of objection. "I don't think we should move him right now unless we have to. It might make his headache worse."

Lance rolled his eyes up as if he was trying to see Shiro above him, then looked forward again when his efforts were frustrated. He made a miserable sound of agreement. "No hugs. Hurts to move."

Hunk scowled. "As soon as this is over and we get you out of the cryo-replenisher, I'm giving you the biggest hug you've ever had in your life."

"Okay." A faint smile played over Lance's lips. His eyes were fluttering and he seemed on the edge of losing coherence again.

Pidge pressed his hand. "What else does your mom do?" she asked. She hated to push, but she needed to know.

"Um." Lance forced his eyes open. He wasn't looking at her, just staring into nothing. "Chicken...soup. Spicy tortilla. The best."

Pidge made a face. Another thing they couldn't replicate.

Lance opened his mouth to speak again, then closed it. "And..."

Pidge leaned forward, listening as hard as she could. Maybe it would be something they could do. Please, anything.

"Sometimes. When it's really bad. She sings."

Silence. The other paladins looked at each other. None of them jumped forward to sing to Lance, not even Hunk.

Lance shifted uncomfortably under the covers. His face was bright red, and his eyes were drooping shut. "Forget it," he murmured. "Forget I said anything. It's fine. It doesn't matter."

It was Keith who responded, voice strong, almost sharp. "No. It matters. Stop being embarrassed about what you need."

"We asked and you told us," Shiro murmured, even though technically it was Pidge who had kept pushing. Her hand tightened around Lance's, trying to relieve the guilt in her chest. She hadn't meant to make him feel ashamed.

And anyway, what was shameful about this? Nothing. So Lance's mom sang to him when he was sick sometimes. That was...normal. Completely normal. Pidge's mom used to sing to her, too.

Great. Now Pidge wanted her mom. She sniffed, hard, trying to force it back. This wasn't fair. Lance was confused and hurting and sick and he wanted his mom and that should have been the simplest thing in the world, in the universe. It should have been easy to fix. But it wasn't.

She raised her eyes, watery and dim, and saw Hunk looking back at her from Lance's other side. He looked on the verge of tears, too, mouth drawn out in a grimace as he held Lance's hand close to his stomach. Shiro's head was down, and Keith slumped on the floor, grim and discouraged. Lance had closed his eyes again, but Pidge could tell by the way his hand trembled in hers that he wasn't asleep.

Then a voice began to sound in the cavern, deep and quiet and soothing. It was just a little shaky at first, but it soon smoothed out. Pidge lifted her head, listening intently. It was Shiro, singing.

"I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Shiro's head was still down, bent over Lance. His eyes seemed to be closed. His fingers carded through Lance's hair, slow and careful, moving to the lullaby-like tempo of the song. Lance was silent, face wrinkled under Keith's hand, but Pidge could feel him listening.

Pidge wasn't surprised, exactly, that Shiro had a beautiful singing voice. It certainly fit him, his character, everything he was about. But she had never heard it before, and so, like the others, she was transfixed. A feeling of dense calm and quiet settled over everything. Shiro's voice was soft, meant just for them, but it was strong too. She could hear it echoing off the metallic surfaces of the lions and the distant walls of the gigantic cavern. He was filling the space.

Then Hunk joined in on the next verse. His voice was deep and beautiful, too, but harmonized with Shiro, bass to his baritone. "I see skies of blue and clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world." His free hand reached out and folded over Shiro's shoulder, and Shiro relaxed even more.

Lance sighed. Tears slipped out of his eyes and rolled down his temples, but his face was calm, and his hand no longer trembled in Pidge's grip. Pidge pressed his hand between both of hers like a warm little sandwich. Her shoulders released the tension that had built up in her bit by bit.

She knew this song. Her dad used to sing it when he was working in the yard. She would follow him around when she was little, listening, trying to help. He always smiled when she sang with him. Now, she started to hum along, uncertain at first, then building in strength. Her favorite verse was coming up.

"The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky, are also in the faces of people passing by. I see friends shaking hands, saying, 'How do you do?' They're really saying, 'I love you.'"

Her voice sounded high and weirdly light to her own ears. More feminine than her speaking voice. She had never learned to harmonize, so she sang the melody along with Shiro, an octave or two higher. In her chest was a deep rumbling purr, undergirding her efforts, bearing her up. The green lion, pleased and proud. The lions were listening, too.

Pidge didn't expect Keith to sing along. He always seemed to have such weird gaps in his cultural knowledge, so there was no guarantee that he even knew the song, let alone could sing it. Plus, he might not want to. Keith was not exactly social, and he and Lance rubbed each other wrong most of the time. Keith had set that aside now in order to be part of the team, though, and Pidge appreciated him stepping outside his comfort zone to be here for Lance.

But when the last verse started, Keith did too. His upper arm pressed Pidge's shoulder, careful and light. He had a pleasant tenor voice that floated right along in between Shiro and Pidge. "I hear babies laugh, I watch them grow. They'll learn much more than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

They sang the last part together, soft and slow and calm. The lions' purr was almost audible now, and the once-dead and desolate cavern felt full of life and music. "Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Quiet fell, but it was an easy, comfortable quiet. Pidge still felt like she heard that purr in the back of her mind. Her teammates were still, eyes closed, holding each other gently. Lance looked like he might be asleep, his breath slow and steady.

Then he stirred and his eyes slid open, momentarily clear, almost free of pain. The others looked at him, all but holding their breath for his reaction. Lance smiled.

"Thanks, moms." Just a murmur, airy and faint, but it was _Lance,_ teasing and thanking them in one breath. Hunk and Shiro grinned. Pidge huffed out a laugh and squeezed his hand. Even Keith just rolled his eyes, more fond than exasperated.

Lance closed his eyes again, and his breath evened out. Maybe he really was asleep now. The others looked at each other, then visibly began to settle themselves where they were, finding slightly more comfortable places to sit, rolling off their knees if they'd been kneeling. Pidge's butt was already starting to hurt from sitting on the the rocky ground, but she didn't care.

Lance was going to be okay, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
